In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, DC’s chief creative officer Geoff Johns explained why he felt the “New 52” era of comic books was restrictive for him as a writer, and why there was a definite need for a “Rebirth”…
“One of the problems I had as a writer in the ‘New 52’ is that we’re dropped into an open field – here’s your character, we’re going to relaunch it – and then you look around and think, well, which direction am I supposed to go in?” Johns told Heat Vision. “With this, we had the conversation ahead of time: look over there, towards the horizon: that’s the direction. And the path isn’t narrow; it’s not all the characters have to have a cape or whatever. Rebirth is the compass, here’s where we’re going.”
“What happened with the ‘New 52’ was that a brick wall had been built between that and everything that had happened before. In my mind, it was like a brick wall, and it felt like, say, the version I read of Raven wasn’t the Raven I’m reading now. It felt like the emotional connection I had with the character broke. I’ll tell you a character specifically, and I’ll be candid about it: Superboy, Connor Kent.”
“One of my favorite characters of all time,” Johns continued, “And I had a great time writing him in Teen Titans, and I loved writing him in his solo run [in Adventure Comics]. They reintroduced him in the ‘New 52’ and he was so different, so vastly changed, that I couldn’t connect with the book that well. The emotional tie just severed, and it didn’t sever in the way that made me angry, it was worse than that: I had apathy for it. I didn’t care anymore.”
Seeming to echo the thoughts and feelings of many fans, Geoff Johns goes on to explain how “Rebirth” came about and what it means for us as fans…
I think Rebirth and the launch of the books became not just a relaunch – going back to the original numbering on Action Comics and Detective was very important to me because it says something about us embracing legacy and our history again. I’m really excited about reading the books as a fan, I’m excited to see us embracing our emotional history and the character relationships again. Putting the characters at the forefront again. That’s what’s important.
Read the entire interview at The Hollywood Reporter website.
